How To Cope With A Job You Hate

Unless you're extraordinarily lucky, you've probably had an awful job at some point. Maybe it was a fine job to start out with but things took a turn later. Maybe it was the only job going and you had to take it but hated every moment. Perhaps you're waiting on tables and scrubbing cutlery whilst applying for something better morning, noon and night. It's a truly tough thing to handle when you're trapped in a job that you cannot stand. Never fear! If you're heading to work, shoulders hunched, carrying your briefcase as you cast your weary gaze to the ground then read over some of these suggestions. As someone who previously got out of a job I hated, I'd been trying to do whatever I could to find something better and would advise anyone else to do the same.

• See what you can get out of your current job. Try to make the most of what you have in the moment. If you've got to be there, make it work for you. If you're working at the bottom of a large company, try to take on more responsibilities and make yourself useful. It could lead to a promotion which you could use when applying for other jobs. It could make you look more impressive when you go into interviews if you can show that you're up for taking on new tasks and making the most of your time in a job.
• See if you could be transferred to a different role, department or location/branch of the company. It offers some security whilst also changing your situation and surroundings. 
• If your job is dull, and you yourself are a creative person, find ways to make the day less dull. Perhaps this is to introduce office games to get people to be more competitive in their work environment. 
• Maybe you're in a job you hate not because you hate the work, but because you hate the people or the way you're treated. If you're being mistreated at work you do not have to accept it. Find out how to lodge complaints and don't be afraid to speak up about what you're experiencing. Join a union. Find the courage to speak up. Is your supervisor singling you out? Speak to a manager. Does your manager mess around the staff? Speak to the rest of your co-workers and, if they feel the same, make a plan of action because you' together are probably stronger than your manager. 
• Utilise your lunch break. Are you working a job to pay bills, but have secret dreams of becoming a writer or and artist or something you so rarely have time to pursue? Harness your break time and try to put it towards all the other stuff you want to achieve but neglect. Write your novel over your lunch time tune bagel. Look at improv classes you could attend and work on some material whilst you wait for the barista to bring over your coffee. Don't let those spare moments of the day go by and become utterly wasted. Finding balance is important. Work towards the thing you've always wanted to do in the scraps of spare time you're given. 
• NETWORK. Go out into the world and boast your skills and see if someone takes interest in your passions and skills. Often, in the world of work, it's about who you know. 
• Hate your job? Why not look into cutting your hours and working part time there and getting a different part time job elsewhere? If it's a possibility then it means you're halving your time spent in a negative space. Who knows? Something could come from that other part time job. It adds another place of employment to your CV and boosts future employability.
• Until recently, I myself was in a job that I loathed. My co-workers and I were all unhappy and we banded together in the knowledge that we all could do better and were wasting our time chasing pennies on a minimum wage job that treated us like dirt with management that actually bullied us and made us feel awful. Despite all we did to try to improve things there, nothing ever changed. What happened next was beautiful. We all rallied together to help each other find new jobs that suited our skills and interests and within two months a third of us had new, better jobs that actually made us happy. We're all still helping the others to get out into new jobs. Things then became interesting. The sudden 'abandon ship' movement made our management team see that, perhaps they were doing something wrong. They began trying to reach out and offer whatever they could to the members of staff that they still had left, but it was too late. Those that are still there are soon to be on the way out. Many have interviews and apprenticeships lined up. By next month, half of their staff will have gone and they are currently having to scrape around to find roughly seven new staff members. If you work somewhere in which it is universally loathed by the staff, realise that you are stronger as a team and your management team need you more than you need them. Think back on the protests of McDonalds workers who rallied together to ask for a raise of their minimum wage. You are always stronger when united as a team than as individuals. If you all hate your jobs, join together to see how you can all change to fix it.  Our management may not have cared too much about us, but thankfully we all cared enough about each other.
• Consider a full turn around. Work in your loathed job for as long as you can stick it and quit. Then go work abroad and completely change your surroundings. I know that this option isn't always affordable or possible for people, but changing your surroundings may be the therapeutic change that you need. 
• For every day you have to go to work at a job you dislike, apply for three jobs. If there aren't a lot of jobs in your area then try to do three things that could help you achieve any other goals or dreams that could lead to something more for you. Always wanted to write a novel? Write a chapter each day. Dream of recording a CD on the side? Each day, spend thirty minutes writing music. For every day you have to turn up for a job that doesn't satisfy you, try to seek out ways to pursue something that WILL satisfy you.

If you've read this because you're currently stuck in a job you hate then I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that you find a better career soon.

If I Get It...

Last week I was interviewed for a great job that I have all of the qualifications for. I made it through the first and second interview rounds and then I got a call. The recruiter said I impressed them, but so did one other candidate. The recruiter wanted to take the weekend to think about it and would then pick one of us and let us know this week. My nerves are shredded right now because I might get the call today. I have a 50/50 chance of getting this job. Mainly, to keep my mind off of the waiting, I've decided to write a little pro and con list of getting the job.

Pro:

• It's a graduate job so career wise it's a real step up.
• Better pay
• I'd have more pride in what I do. 
• Sociable hours/more hours
• I'd get weekends off!
• This is a graduate job - my degree would actually be valued
• New start, new job, new people. 
• Decent career progression and the chance to really branch out and do something new. 
• I'd end the day feeling like I was somehow doing more with my life
• The office is in such a beautiful location! Even walking up to the interview was a calming little trip

Con:

• I won't see my current work buddies as much
• None of the perks from my current job (except when my current work buddies hook me up <3)
• I won't have the same amount of flexibility when it comes to taking time off.
• I probably wouldn't be able to dye my hair blue

That's about it though. I'm trying to keep my mind off it because in the next hour or so I should find out whether or not the job is mine and I am very, very anxious right now. This job would mean a more stable schedule for me with free evenings and weekends. I'd finally have a job that I could really be proud of. When talking to friends about what I do I'd have a better response. I'm so very anxious right now. This could be a turn of the tide...

Job Interview

Eep!
Right now I should be just going in for a job interview and, if you ask me, that's a pretty scary prospect. I'm the sort of person who gets really anxious about job interviews. I hate having to talk about myself. I hate the uncertainty of the situation. Maybe it's a dreadful self sabotage thing. I get so anxious that it lessens my chances and I enter the next job interview with that same anxiety. The job I'm being interviewed for today had a pretty vague ad but I know it's probably much better in terms of pay than my current job, it has specific hours which means I'd have evenings with my family and I get free refreshments throughout the day. Sounds good to me! Wish me luck, guys.

The Never Ending Job Hunt!

I'm back into the epic adventure that is the job hunt today.

My current job is decent enough and has plenty of perks but I want something with better pay and something more relevant to my degree and my interests. I have a lot of big hopes and plans for my future and for it to all happen it's going to require more money.

This is the first full weekend I've had off in over a month. I'm using it to send out job applications and chill out whilst also trying to find a little time to also get some writing done. Eep!

A Friendly Reminder To Everyone About The People Who Serve You

"Awh," he said in a condescending tone as I stared blankly at the pile of carefully counted change in my outstretched hand. I could feel my heart pounding with trepidation at his tone.
"Is it hard for you? Is all this too difficult? Can they really not find an employee able to use a till? Isn't that sad?"
The man sneers at his wife who looks down at me through pointed spectacles. It's my first day behind the till at my new job and I'm painfully aware that a long queue has formed though I'm only five minutes into my shift. They can smell it. They can tell that I'm afraid. This doesn't mean that they show me any form of sympathy.
"I'm sorry, sir, is the change not correct?"
I'm trying to work out what I've done wrong.
"I don't know," he says "You tell me."
I've processed everything through the till as I was trained to do. I counted the change out twice. It is absolutely unknown to me what this man seems to be having a problem with and yet he decides to stand there, a heaving queue behind him, and mocks me for a further five minutes in a moment that was truly overwhelming. It's only my first day.

First days on the job can be pretty scary. The example above I've written is sadly based on a true event. Those two customers made me feel utterly awful and because of that they've always stood out in my mind. First days on the job are scary and we probably all have to deal with them at some point. The sad thing is that if you're entering a job in retail or any sort of service industry people like to be shitty. Yes, we've raised people to believe that the customer is always right which provides a comforting sense of entitlement. People think they can walk all over you, intimidate you, speak to you however you want. They don't bother to apply any empathy to the situation. We all deal with waitresses, bar staff, sales assistants and people who serve our needs as a customer. It's something we all experience, have in common and therefore people are likely to complain about them. I'm telling you now that no matter how entitled you think you are, it is not right to treat someone badly at their job when they've done nothing wrong. I've been in that awkward first day fear frenzy and I've seen others going through it too. If you see someone and they're clearly learning then deal with it, be nice and don't make them feel bad. In fact maybe throw them a compliment, a smile or say something encouraging. They'll get it eventually. In fact you're part of a very special time in their lives as they transition into a new role, a new chapter of their lives, and you can be the person that gets them through the day or the person that makes their day so much worse. Either way, they'll remember.

Be nice to whoever is waiting on your table. Your waitress is not to blame if your food is cold and undercooked, but she's the one you'll really verbally lay into when you start to get grumpy. If the cashier is still learning how to use the cash machine give them patience if they take a little extra time to ring your items up. If the new barista takes a while with the coffee and it's more of a latte than a cappuccino then accept it politely (no really, it's just coffee. I never understood the pretentiousness surrounding coffee)

We all have to start from square one at some points of our life. We all have to learn the ropes. I've heard customers groan, roll their eyes and mutter to each other about how they hate being served by trainees. OK, if people are learning they may make mistakes. Maybe you know the establishment they're working in more than they do. The answer is simple: be helpful in a way that isn't rude. I'm sure almost everyone who works in a role where they service others has had to deal with people being rude and belittling to them. It's just common courtesy to be understanding and tolerant of people as they learn new surroundings and rudeness earns you nothing. I suppose the gist of what I'm saying is that if you see someone working in retail or any sort of service position and they're nervous they may be new. They're scared, they're learning and being snooty or mean won't solve anything. In fact it's a pretty shitty thing to do. Look back and remember your own first day at a new job and how uneasy you probably felt. They're feeling that right now. Just show a little empathy, be kind and you may make their day a little easier.

Post Graduate Blues

It's something many of us go through.
You're gone from school to college to university and now you're left looking for a job. You've done what you feel was expected of you. Suddenly you're without a framework, without duties and maybe, for the first time in your life, you're no longer a student. There's that pressure to get a job. Maybe because you're so tired of friends and relatives asking the inevitable question of "So what are you plans? What are you going to do now?"

I know I most of my time at university, particularly during my final year when doing my dissertation, just wanting to come out the other side and to be done with university entirely. But once the mortarboard cap is gone you may find that you are almost wanting to go back due to a longing for structure and an end to CV writing, cover letters and the endless sea of "no" and rejection from potential employers. This post-university transition period can be a real muddle. There's a common misconception about university that all students go to university to party and have a crazy time and, though this may be true for some, it isn't true for everyone. For some of us it's the last step up to a diving board and we're expected to simpy take a leap into the unknown from that point. It's that last moment of structure. After study we're expected to find work. What if you go through university and don't know what to do with your degree? What if studying a subject made you realise that it's not your true passion? Do you move back in with your parents or try to make a go of it on your own? What happens when you can't find a job?

For those who can't find a job after leaving university it can be a truly disheartening time. You're told getting a good degree will get you a good job. After spending thousands of pounds on an education you may feel a little cheated. A degree can bring plenty of stress but so does the potential emptiness of whatever comes after. If you've recently graduated and still don't quite know what's going on in your life then don't worry. Things take time. Whilst waiting for work to come why not take the time to think about other ways to boost your CV or what things you want to achieve that you could do in this time. I used my post graduate period when I couldn't find work to work on a novel. Find what works for you and focus on it. You've got time. Good things will come.

Hey guys,

I won't be on much today as I have a very important job interview. It's nothing to do with writing or English but it's a temporary position that I'd really love to get. It would mean I'd be working for a company that I actually have a lot of love and respect for. I buy their products regularly.

Anyways I'm not at my computer right now.
In fact at this very moment I'm in London and the interview should have just started.

I almost don't want to say too much because I don't want to jinx it but I'd love to work there even if it is just a temporary staff role.

Wish me luck?

New Years Resolutions: A Further, Further Review.

We're already part-way through September and as Autumn rolls in we're reminded that we're getting ever closer to the end of the year and earlier this year, before my blog really became popular and before I was regularly updating it, I dumped down my New Years Resolutions right here and I decided to do a quick review of how they've gone so far. When I reviewed them previously it was, in some cases, too early to comment on any progress. Now, however, I can talk a little about the changes that have occurred for me in 2013.

The main focus of my resolutions was to buckle down and work really hard to complete my university in order to get a really good degree - and I did! I have now graduated and have a beautiful piece of paper up on the wall in my study to remind me of three years of hard work. I'm still very proud of my efforts and remember them fondly as I move into the world of work and look to the future.

My second focus was to remain healthy. I have, of course, remained a pescetarian and I've lost a little weight in a healthy, happy manner that hasn't compromised me in the slightest. This dietary decision certainly isn't something I'll be giving up any time soon.

My next focus was to find a job upon leaving university. I've found work, I had a job and now I'm looking for a position better suited to my skills and interests. So in that sense, having had a job, I suppose I can tick that one off too. I am now, however, looking for a "career" rather than just a job. I'd love to get some experience in the world of publishing or find something secretarial, perhaps even something within the world of litigation, but we'll see what lies ahead...

I then wanted to go to New Zealand. Initially I was hoping to raise the money and go this year but, what with other commitments, I'll probably push the trip back a little and go next year. That said I did manage to raise all the flight money needed for the trip and it's stashed away. I think I'll go next year when it's still winter here and will hopefully therefore be warmer in Wellington. I'm excited for the trip ahead even if 2013 won't be the year I head over.

I also stated that I wanted to finish a novel by the end of 2013. There's still much time to go and I'm obviously closer than I was in January however I'm by no means finished or even close yet. In 2013 I've also completed my first anthology of poetry and my first anthology of short stories.Whether or not they'll be published, I cannot yet say. My fingers remain firmly crossed.

Finally I said that I wanted to do more interesting things and I have been. I may not have been canyoneering or skydiving but I've gone to some cool events and I'll be having plenty of new experiences over the next few months to keep myself happy.







So all in all I'd say I've kept pretty faithful in terms of meeting my personal resolutions.
How about you?
What resolutions did you set yourself at the start of the year?
Did you keep them?
Let me know in the comments section for this post or tweet me your answers.
Bye!